Good Friday Morning Everyone!

So I left the house early yesterday morning and got home at 8:30pm… Emily had painted the walls and ceiling in the family room and everything was put back as if nothing had been touched. Very cool experience I must say… just like I walked out the door and came back in with a different color behind the pictures. She got rid of the BRIGHT yellow and went with a lighter, softer yellow. I love the colors she’s chosen for our house over the past year. It’s so HAPPY in here!

This reminds me of something I was taught at a business conference about 12 years ago. If you want to change your life, start by changing your environment! Eliminate the clutter… get some happy paint… hang inspirational art… play inspirational music… invite inspirational people. 

In a world filled with negativity, mediocrity, and dreamlessness… we have to take BOLD steps at securing our personal space. Our personal environment includes: our home, our bedroom, our office, our cars, our yard, and anywhere else we spend OUR TIME. Even though we can’t control what others do with their personal space, we CAN and SHOULD exercise authority over what we do with ours. We should make our space happy and inspirational. We should make it clean and uncluttered. We should create an environment that causes us to DREAM BIG and ACHIEVE BIG! One that gives us PEACE on stormy days!

Renovating your environment is not expensive! It does take a determined effort and an up front investment of TIME. It may require you coaching some of your friends and family about how to act in your PERSONAL ENVIRONMENT. You may have to post a few NO SMOKING SIGNS… or NO GOSSIPING, NO COMPLAINING, NO MOCKING, NO DESTRUCTIVE CONVERSATION… and whatever else you deem to be an environmental contaminant. This process will most definitely have you taking a few trips to the land fill. You might even have to start inviting a different crowd of guests. But in the end… you will have a space that CAUSES YOU TO LIVE LIKE YOU SHOULD!

In Psalms 101, the writer describes his commitment to carefully police his own personal environment. It’s a very aggressive 8 verses with such sayings as:

“I will lead a life of integrity in MY OWN HOME.”

“I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.”

“I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil.”

“I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.”

“I will not endure conceit and pride.”

“I will not allow deceivers to serve me and liars will not be allowed to ENTER MY PRESENCE.”

Please don’t get confused my dear bloggers… I’m not calling on my readers to develop some kind of holier than thou disposition. Please don’t go about making the world feel like they are not clean enough merit your company. This blog is not meant to nullify love’s mandate to walk in humility and stoop down to serve the perishing. It is a call to build your very own PLACE of RETREAT… a place where you can REST and be REFRESHED every day of your life… an inner circle of prayerfully selected dear friends with similar standards and ambitions… so that you can go further, faster… and live and thrive to the utmost!

What a super blog this is today! Maybe you should consider reading it 3 or 4 times… until specific ideas come that bring about a glorious plan for your environmental renovation!

It’s my pleasure writing and interacting with each of you… I’m praying every morning that God will make this your season of blessings! Thanks for reading…